Education at Boughton Estate

Boughton House is a family home, lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and their family. It is looked after by an educational charity, established by the 9th Duke in 1986. The Trust’s purpose is to foster understanding of the House and its heritage and the surrounding Boughton Estate. Amongst it priorities is the conservation of the extremely fragile structure and contents and the gradual restoration of the surrounding designed landscape.

Boughton contains a wealth of historical artefacts from the generations of the same family who live and lived within its walls. The collection has a rich Tudor vein – particularly in portraiture which enables students to view Royalty, courtiers and even market sellers from that period. The French influence is also strongly felt in the collection, provoking a local history project to be created for GCSE students at a local Secondary school.

The Unfinished Wing offers an almost unrivalled opportunity to examine the building design and construction techniques and the present garden restoration project can provide an insight into both the historic background and context as well as the ongoing work.

The noted black poet and author, Ignatius Sancho had the Montagu family as Patrons for much of his life and this, with portraiture, previous research and artefacts can provide an insight into the life of former slave in England in the 18th century.

Boughton House is available throughout the year for educational visits, by appointment.

Information pack for teachers (pdf 340kb) (opens new window)